NTSB releases update on Chattanooga bus crash case

WASHINGTON — The first phase of the National Transportation Safety Board’s investigation into a deadly school bus crash in Chattanooga, Tennessee has been completed.

According to the agency, the bus- which was carrying 37 children at the time- hit a mailbox, a utility pole, rolled onto its right side and then collided with a tree.

Recordings from inside the bus have been downloaded and are being evaluated.

The NTSB has requested an interview with the bus driver, but he declined after his legal counsel advised against it. The group is now trying to obtain the driver’s medical, employment, and phone records.

So far, investigators have not been able to interview any of the student passengers.

A preliminary report of all of the NTSB’s findings is expected in the next few weeks.

Six students lost their lives in the crash and dozens others were wounded.